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Did illegal voters swing any congressional races?

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House Speaker John Boehner (right), Ohio Republican, reacts emotionally while presenting a Congressional Gold Medal to astronaut Neil Armstrong during a ceremony in honor of Armstrong and fellow astronauts Michael Collins, John Glenn and Buzz Aldrin at the Capitol building ... more >

In one of the newly-released emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, longtime Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal calls House Speaker John A. Boehner “alcoholic” and “lazy” and said he is despised by younger Republicans in the House.

The email, dated Nov. 2, 2010, had the subject line “H: election day memo on post-midterms. Sid.” On the same day, Republicans re-took control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which eventually elevated Mr. Boehner, Ohio Republican, in January 2011 to the title he now holds.

“Boehner is despised by the younger, more conservative members of the House Republican Conference,” Mr. Blumenthal wrote. “They are repelled by his personal behavior. He is louche, alcoholic, lazy, and without any commitment to any principle.”

He went on to write that Mr. Boehner is “not Gingrich, the natural leader of a ‘revolution,’ riding the crest into power,” a reference to the former House speaker during the Clinton administration.

“His hold is insecure,” Mr. Blumenthal wrote. “He is careworn and threadbare, banal and hollow, holding nobody’s endearing loyalty. Boehner is beholden and somewhat scared of his base. He twitches when they make gestures that might undermine his position. His impulse is to hand out money.”

Mrs. Clinton sent back a general response to the email, which also mentioned former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, radio host Rush Limbaugh, and political strategist Karl Rove.

“Thx, as always, for your insights,” she wrote. “I’m on a plane on the way to Papua New Guinea for the next 6 hours so pls email me results as you get them. Needless to say, I’m so distressed over all of this. All the best, H”.

Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said in response to the email: “The fact is the only reason that the mishandling of classified information by Hillary Clinton and her staff has been exposed is because of Speaker Boehner’s decision to create the select committee and our members’ diligence and hard work.”